


Tired

by skaoi



Category: Lucifer (TV)
Genre: First thing I've written since starting Zoloft, I wonder if I suck now, I've missed you darlings, Lucifer on Netflix, Post-Devil Face Reveal to Chloe Decker, SO happy our Devil Baby was saved, “They’re Back; Aren’t They” Fic Exchange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-06
Updated: 2018-10-06
Packaged: 2019-07-27 04:02:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,295
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16211003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skaoi/pseuds/skaoi
Summary: Her words echo mercilessly in his mind."Get him out of here."





	Tired

**Author's Note:**

  * For [CloudXMK](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CloudXMK/gifts).



Lucifer reaches to his breast pocket, hands shaking.  He can’t look into the hazel eyes across the room as he withdraws the lighter and shoves the filtered end of the cigarette into his mouth.

****

Linda leans forward, “Lucifer, you can’t...” she begins gently. “...smoke in here.”

****

“Obviously,” he growls under his breath as he tries, and fails, to ignite the lighter.  His jaw clenches, causing him to bite off the cigarette. The long end drops into his lap and sprinkles dried tobacco into his lap.  Satan’s head falls back with a ‘thunk’ against the back of the sofa and his dark chocolate eyes stare at the ceiling.

****

The therapist’s eyes soften in sympathy.  It’s been a while since she’s seen him so wound up.  His mother was involved. Things were dire.

****

“Lucifer,” she tries again softly.  “What happened? Is....is Chloe alright?”

****

The memory of Her voice assaults him, _Get him out of here_ , and a breath chokes him as he tries to answer.  “Last I saw, Doctor, yes.” His voice, usually so smooth, rasps like sandpaper over freshly-hewn wood.

****

Linda nods and looks out the window, her own memory working overtime as it replays Chloe’s message.   _Dan is bringing Lucifer home from...um....a....uh....police operation.  He’ll probably stay there and down a few bottles of scotch. Oh God, I hope.  Shit...Just...Keep him there until I can get away from the scene. Please, Linda,_ Chloe had begged over the phone. _Keep him safe....for me._

****

It seems Satan had different ideas when Dan brought him home.  He’d grabbed his car keys and high-tailed it to his therapist’s office before she could drive over for a house call.

****

Linda huffs and nods to herself before crossing the room to sit on the couch next to her most unusual and stubborn patient.  Her hand rests on The Devil’s knee and gives it a squeeze. “What happened, Lucifer?” she asks again.

****

He ignores her gesture, refusing to accept any level of comfort, and hangs his head, closing his eyes.  “She _knows_ , Doctor,” he whispers raggedly.  “The Detective knows.”

****

Linda leans against him to increase the contact.  “How did it happen?” she asks.

****

Lucifer takes a deep breath and the tiny, blonde woman feels his entire body shudder from the stress he’s endured.

****

“I....we....” he begins, then grips her hand as he stops for another breath.

****

She waits patiently.

****

He inhales slowly and the exhalation wracks his frame.

****

Linda holds on tight, offering silent, corporal support.  His grip on her hand will no doubt leave bruises but that is of no consequence in the face of her friend’s need in this moment.

****

The floodgates open.

****

“We...we confronted Cain.  She’d broken it off with him.  His man shot her but she was brilliant as usual and wore a vest.  When his shot was ineffectual, Cain ordered his thugs to open fire on us.  I had no choice, Linda.”

****

His eyes are wide, now.  Imploring her to understand.   _Please believe me._

****

“She was stunned from the impact of the first shot, so I unfurled my wings to enshroud us...”

****

“But you were still vulnerable...” Linda couldn’t help but interrupt with a soft gasp.

****

Lucifer’s eyes are downcast, “Yes.” he confirms.

****

“Oh my G....that must have....oh, Lucifer....” Linda’s eyes fill with tears as her hand raises to cover her mouth.  Somehow, she just now notices how especially pale he seems. Her touch migrates to the top of his shoulder, “Are you...” but he cuts her off with a flinch and a sharp hiss of pain.

****

“It doesn’t matter.  Finally, they stopped and I spirited her to a nearby rooftop to wait for her to regain consciousness.  Once she did, I returned to the scene....” His face darkens, “To finish them.”

****

He pauses for a long moment and looks away.  “The Detective returned just after I drove Maze’s dagger into Cain’s heart.  She... **_saw_ ** me, Doctor.  My Devil Face.”

****

“I spoke to Cain while he drew his last, you see.  Made _damned sure_ he felt guilty over killing Charlotte so he would find his nasty little way into Hell where he surely belongs.”  Lucifer examines his hands as if still seeing blood on them. Under the nails. “I’ve never killed a human before, you know.”  His dark eyes raise to meet Linda’s and her heart breaks at the desolation in their dark depths. “I honestly cannot say if I did this to punish him or...”

****

Linda grips his hand in return, cutting off whatever he was going to say next. “You were protecting her.”

****

“Was I?” he snarls at her.  “Or was I protecting _me_?”

****

“Does it matter?” she cuts in more harshly than intended.  Her other hand raises his chin so his gaze meets hers then strokes a thumb over his cheek, “You’re allowed to protect yourself as well, Lucifer.”

****

He pulls away, stands, then moves to leave, “Moot point, regardless.  She knows I’m a monster and ordered me away. There’s nothing for it now.  Father no doubt will return me to Hell so I should just...”

****

Linda blocks him from the door, “Hold on.  How do you know _she_ wasn’t also protecting _you_?” The doctor asks.

****

Lucifer’s dark eyebrows go up, “she ordered Daniel to ‘get me out of there,’ Doctor.  What else could she mean?”

****

Linda’s mouth opens, “Wait, _Dan_ saw you, too?”

****

“What?”  He waves her off, “No!  Of course not. I’d changed back by that point.  As soon as I realized what horror the Detective was seeing.”  He pauses. “Why she looked so....” his voice softens and drifts off.

****

The therapist shrugs, “Well, _maybe_ she had Dan take you away because the scene was about to be swarming with other people.  She knew you were in a vulnerable state and needed space. _Maybe_ she knew you needed to NOT be questioned at that moment.  And _maybe_ a whole lot of other things that I can’t imagine because I am not a police detective and _neither are you_.”

****

Satan scowls.  “That’s a lot of “maybe,” Doctor.”

****

Linda cocks her head and rests a staying hand on his forearm, “It is.  And all entirely possible.”

****

He falls silent for a moment, examining the carpet.

****

She steps quickly to grab her purse from her desk then returns, “Let’s get you home.  It sounds like you took some damage. I want to see if I can help and there’s not enough space to do it here.”

****

He raises a hand to forestall her, “Truly, Linda, I can see myself home.  No doubt Maze will be happy to inflict the agony that will come from plucking lead projectiles from my wings.”

****

Linda shakes her head, “ No.  Maze is at my apartment recovering.”

****

The Devil raises his eyebrows and tries for a salacious smirk but he’s too exhausted to really carry it off, “Oh?  Long night for you? About time, really.”

****

She fixes him with a look, “Behave.  She fought through a bunch of Pierce’s men and was pretty roughed up.  She’s safe at my place, so I sent her there to have a shower and get some sleep.  I’ll take you to your apartment and help you with the bullets.”

****

He frowns, “But you said you’re not ‘that kind of doctor,’ Doctor.”

****

She shrugs, “I can muddle through,” then she smirks.  “Unless you want me to call an avian vet.”

****

He gasps as he looks down, “Doctor, your bedside manner leaves _much_ to be desired.  I am _not_ a bird, as you well know.”

****

Linda chuckles as she nudges him out the door, “Come on, before I start offering you crackers.”

****

Lucifer remains standing in the door, “You’re awfully keen to return me to my home, Doctor.  Why is that, I wonder.”

****

She feels the pull of his penetrating gaze and swats his chest as she pushes past him, “Stop that and let me help you.  First, we need to stop by the pharmacy.”

****

=============================

****

Dan stares at Chloe, blue-grey eyes wide, “I’m sorry, you’re going to...what?”  He watches as she takes a deep breath and brings her hands together, palm to palm.

****

Ella bounces on her toes then punches him in the arm, “She’s PRAYING, dude!  Maybe you should try it.” She beams at Chloe, “I _thought_ you were coming around when you were asking me those God questions awhile ago.”

****

Chloe shakes her head then scrubs a tear from her eye, “I need help finding Lucifer, Dan.  I can’t reach Maze and, I don’t know, maybe his brother can help.”

****

Her ex-husband shrugs and reaches into his pocket, “Why not just call Amenadiel on the phone?”

****

She huffs, “I already tried and he’s not answering.  I saw...” she looks between Dan and Ella and can’t stop herself from blushing.  She feels ridiculous. “I saw Lucifer do this once. He said he was calling Amenadiel like this.”

****

Dan’s eyebrows go waaaay up and he starts to shake his head as he huffs softly, “Umm...Chlo...”

****

Chloe cuts him off, “Not now.  You’ll understand in a minute. Just...I need you to be quiet.  I’ve never done this before.” She puts her hands together again and looks at Ella.

****

The forensic tech nods and smiles.  “Now, just close your eyes and focus.  It’s like meditation, really. You’ve done yoga, right?”  At Chloe’s nod, she continues. “So, just imagine what you want to happen and send that energy out into the universe.”  She shrugs, “Just....don’t be surprised at the lack of an obvious answer. God’s kind of a mysterious dude.”

****

Chloe takes a deep breath and nods nervously, “Okay.”  

****

Another deep breath.  Shaking hands press a little more firmly together.  

****

Sharp exhalation.  

****

Slow inhale.  

****

She closes her eyes.

****

Slow exhalation.

****

Amenadiel bursts into the apartment in a flurry of grey feathers and billowing robes, “What’s happened to Lucifer?!” he demands.  “I heard....Where is he?”

****

The humans jump backwards in shock, explicatives in a number of languages launching into the air followed quickly by apologies and crossed hearts by Catholic and lapsed Catholic alike.

****

Ella laughs loudly in spite of herself, “That was PRET-TY damned obvious!”

****

Chloe has no time for this.  “Amenadiel, I think he’s hurt, but I don’t know.  I had Dan bring him home but he was gone when I drove over.  He isn’t answering his phone and I guess he figured out how to turn off his GPS.”

****

Amenadiel chuckles in spite of himself, “It’s more likely he had Maze do it.”  The angel’s brows come down as he leans toward her, “You aren’t surprised by...” he flutters his wingtips.

****

She shrugs her shoulders, “Well, yeah.  A little bit, but after seeing....um....Lucifer....”

****

“Oh, so you saw his wings...”

****

“He has wings?” she interrupts with shock.

****

“Holy shit!” sounds as a chorus from Dan and Ella.

****

Now the dark eyebrows go up, “Why, yes.  Great, gleaming white ones. The most glorious our father ever bestowed....and the fool keeps cutting them off.”  He pauses then cocks his head. “But if you didn’t know, what _did_ you see?”

****

Her hand gestures toward her face, “He...looked.....um...his....face...”

****

Amenadiel’s eyes widen in surprise, “So his Devil Face has returned?”

****

Chloe frowns, “His...what?”

****

The angel nods, “He looked....” he pauses and looks uncomfortable before continuing, “...burned?  Eyes sort of glowing amber?”

****

She nods.

****

“It’s the face he gave himself when he Fell from Heaven.”  Amenadiel tucks his wings away and looks around at the other two people in the room.

****

Dan blinks at him, “Um...dude.  You’re.....” He stops and frowns.  “That means Lucifer....”

****

“Isn’t a method actor!” Ella interrupts, her dark eyes wide.  “Whooooaaaa.” She pauses for a moment then looks hard at Chloe.  “You said something’s wrong with Lucifer. So that must mean there’s some seriously loco shit going down.”  She squares her shoulders. “Devil or not. He’s always been good in my book. How can I help?”

****

Chloe grabs the small Latina for a tight hug and Amenadiel smiles.  “I need you and Dan to get back to the scene and run interference.”

****

Dan rakes his hand through his short hair as he looks down at the floor, “Man, I _knew_ that guy was weird.”  He flashes a grin, “Hell...oh, sorry....” the angel chuckles and waves him off, “I knew _you_ were kinda weird, too.”  

****

The detective looks at his ex-wife with a soft smile, “but Lucifer has always had her back.  And he had Trixie’s once, too. I’m in.”

****

Amenadiel pulls Dan in for a hug and the human stumbles into the unexpected embrace.

****

They pull away from each other and Amenadiel pulls up a bar stool so he doesn’t loom.  “Okay, first, there are some things you all need to understand about my brother...”

****

=========================================================

****

Linda looks down at the Hell-forged blade in her blood-covered hand.  Then she cocks her head as she looks at her patient while she kneels on the floor next to him.

****

Lucifer is on his back, wings splayed wide. Smears of blood and broken feathers mar the polished, black concrete but his eyes remain closed while his therapist works to remove the bullets from the front of his wings.  He opens his eyes and raises his brows in an unspoken question while she pushes herself to her feet.

****

“Let’s take a break for a few minutes,” she explains.  “My knees are tired and I think I got all the front. Let’s get to the back after a drink and a potty break.”

****

He closes his eyes again and rests his hands on his stomach, “I’m fine here, thank you, Doctor.  Just let me know when I’m to roll over.”

****

Linda shakes her head and walks to the bar to wash her hands before grabbing a bottle of sparkling water from the refrigerator.  She pulls her phone from her pocket and starts texting.

****

“Contacting the authorities, Doctor?” Lucifer calls from the floor.

****

She huffs at him, shaking her head, “Just moving my schedule around.  We left my office rather abruptly.” The therapist looks down at her phone, taking a moment to be thankful she and Chloe had that impromptu party in Lucifer’s apartment several months ago.

****

_Okay, come up.  But use the stairs from Lux to the penthouse.  And take your shoes off before you step in. He doesn’t know you’re coming._ [send]

****

A thumbs-up emoji is the only response.

****

She walks past him, “going to powder my nose, Lucifer.  Go ahead and roll over, I’ll be right there.”

****

He nods then groans as he moves to comply, “Now that you’ve half-plucked me like some infernal rooster....” Satan rolls onto his stomach, arms folded with his forehead resting on one wrist.

****

Chloe enters the apartment through the library and pads on stocking feet toward the living room.  

****

She sees Lucifer on the floor, head resting on his arms, blood-spattered wings spreading wide from the center of his back.  Linda approaches and raises her hand to stop the detective. _Hang on._

****

The petite blonde kneels next to her patient and rests a hand on his back, between the shoulder blades.

****

“What are you doing, Doctor?” he mumbles from beneath her.

****

One of her hands carefully moves to a wing and she scowls, “Looking over the damage.  It’s pretty extensive back here. This is going to take a while.”

****

He exhales heavily, “Not like I’ve anywhere else to be...”

****

Linda shrugs as she sits back on her heels, “Or....I could ask for help.”

****

Lucifer turns his head to look at her, “You said Maze is...”

****

Chloe steps forward, “Not Maze...”

****

He launches backwards off the floor, sending Linda flat on her rear, his back violently slamming into the bar, “Bloody Hell,” he growls in pain as feathers are jarred loose and float to the floor.  “What are you....?” He tries desperately to hide his wings but they refuse to cooperate.

****

Lucifer looks around, panic in his eyes, “Detective, you can’t be here.  You....can’t..... _please_.....”

****

Chloe stops and raises her hand in a placating gesture, “It’s okay, Lucifer...”

****

Linda moves toward him and rests a hand on his arm, “Lucifer...”

****

He glares down at her, eyes blazing, “You...why would you do this to me?”

****

Tears begin to streak down Chloe’s cheeks, “Because she cares about you.  I care....”

****

“Silence!” he commands, his voice echoing on the various hard surfaces of the space.  “Do. No. Lie. To. ME.” He gasps in agony, “I. Heard. You. When you told Daniel to get me away from you.  You can’t bear to be near me.”

****

“No,” she tries to interrupt, but he’s having none of it.

****

“ _Get him out of here_.  YOUR words, Detective,” he hisses.

****

Chloe growls in frustration and clenches her hands into fists, “Yes, Lucifer.  I said that. As soon as you and Dan left, the place was crawling with cops. I was trying to PROTECT you.”

****

He chances a look down at his therapist to see her eyebrows raised and head cocked. _Told you so._

****

He snarls back at the detective, “I don’t believe you.”

****

“Why the Hell not?” Chloe can’t help but raise her voice as she steps closer.  Damn, her partner can be so thick sometimes.

****

Satan’s visage changes immediately and the torn, charred skin around his mouth twists into an ugly smirk when she flinches in surprise, “ _That’s_ why.  I’m a MONSTER, Detective.  This is what you saw. Let that pretty mouth of yours lie again and tell me you were trying to protect _this_.”

****

The detective looks at him.  Really looks at him. Takes in his posture.  The set of his wings. The short panting breaths.  The pain reflected in the seared skin around his glowing eyes.  

****

She exhales slowly and moves toward him carefully as if approaching a wounded animal.  Not terribly inaccurate, she muses as she raises one hand, “Lucifer...”

****

Glowing eyes widen in seeming horror as she steps closer.  Between the bar digging into his back and his therapist at his side, he has nowhere to go.  “Don’t.....please.....” he begs. His voice is soft and ragged. Helpless in the face of anything she may wish to inflict upon him.  

****

Closing his eyes tightly, he turns his head to prepare for the pain he’s sure is coming.  He just doesn’t know what form it will take. Will she shoot him? Punch him? Maze’s dagger is handy....that’ll sure do the trick.

****

He’s completely unprepared for her to slowly wrap her arms around his body and rest her cheek against his chest while she hugs him close.

****

His eyes open again and he stares down at her, unsure of what to do.  He turns his head to find Linda wrapping his arm around Chloe. The therapist nods at him with a soft smile as she heads toward the elevator.  “I think you two can take it from here,” she tosses over her shoulder.

****

Chloe looks at the smaller blonde woman without releasing her partner, “I think Dan and Ella may need to talk to you at some point,” she reports with a wink.

****

Linda nods as the elevator closes, “Will do.”

****

The detective looks up to see Lucifer’s face has returned what she has come to regard as normal.  His glassy, chocolate eyes stare back at her while she reaches a hand to stroke his cheek. Her thumb brushes his cheekbone and catches a tear.  “I owe you my life,” she says softly. “Again.”

****

The hand reaches behind his neck and pulls his face down so she can brush his lips with a gentle kiss.  “Please let me help you with your wings.”

****

He closes his eyes and the only sound he can make is a ragged exhalation as he nods slowly.  His arms tighten around the precious human in his arms.

****

And Satan weeps. **  
**

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my darlings. I live.
> 
> With great apologies for the delay....and for any deviation from the original prompt, I give to you the first thing I've written in 6 months. Thank you for your patience, love. I do hope you like it.
> 
> Title is from "Tired" by Alan Walker


End file.
